Rio Tinto has formally opened its new $US 338 million Silvergrass iron ore mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, reports the newspaper Australian.
The 10 million tonne per annum operation is the company’s 16th mine and represents the first new iron ore mine in Australia since the opening of Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill mine.
Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said the output from Silvergrass would be crucial to maintaining the company’s Pilbara blend product.
“Silvergrass is a great example of our value-over-volume approach in action as the mine will deliver the high-quality, low-cost ore used to maintain the world-class premium Pilbara blend product our customers love so much,” Mr Jacques said.
The project, which created around 500 jobs during its construction, will link in with Rio’s existing Nammuldi operation via a nine-kilometre conveyor system.
